Quincy & Torch Lake Railroad

The line was chartered in July 1888, and construction started in April 1889.[1] The narrow gauge was chosen because railroads in the area, namely the Hancock and Calumet Railroad as well as the Mineral Range Railroad, were narrow gauge at that time.[1] The railway began operations in March of 1890.[1] Its first engine was the "Thomas F. Mason," a 32-ton 2-6-0 Mogul built by the Brooks Locomotive Works of Dunkirk, New York.[1]

In 1905 the Quincy Mining Company bought the locomotives and rolling stock from the Q&TL and began operating the line directly, although the Q&TL remained the nominal owner of the track.[1] This continued until the Q&TL was officially liquidated in 1927, although the rail operation continued until the mine was shut down in 1931.[1] The line was reactivated in 1937 as World War II-era demand for copper caused the mine to reopen.[1] The mine and the railway were shut down permanently in 1945.[1]

The Quincy Mine area is preserved as a cooperating site of the Keweenaw National Historical Park.[3] Visitors are transported to and from the mine on the Quincy and Torch Lake Cog Railway.[4] While that tramway is recent in origin,[5] the tram bears the "Quincy and Torch Lake Railroad" name.[4]

Locomotive #1, the Thomas F. Mason, has ended up in preservation at the Quincy Mine.[1]

Locomotive #3, a 2-6-0 Mogul acquired from Brooks in 1892, is on static display at the Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad attraction in Genesee County, near Flint, Michigan.[1][6][7]

Locomotive #6, the last engine purchased for the line, being a 2-8-0 Consolidation acquired in 1913,[1] was sent to Pine Creek Railroad at Allaire State Park in New Jersey in 1975 with the intent for it to be returned to operational condition.[8] This did not occur, and the locomotive was sent back to the Quincy Mine in 2009, where it is undergoing restoration work.[8][9]